Real Madrid have sent a total of seven players out on loan in the 2021/22 season, and, so far, none of them is truly lighting things up. Borja Mayoral and Takefusa Kubo have had their moments, but nobody looks like a sure-fire, first-team star.
That means Los Blancos will have some big decisions to make. Will they sell some of these players? If they go for another loan deal, which new destinations will be out there? And can anyone get a call up to the first team?
Let’s take a look at what the Merengues should do with each of the seven players they loaned this season.
CB Victor Chust
Cadiz center back Victor Chust received first-team action for Real Madrid in 2020/21 and played reasonably well, earning himself a loan move to one of LaLiga’s most annoying defensive sides, Cadiz. Chust must be impressing there, though, because Manchester City have apparently shown interest in the 22-year-old.
Although Chust has been impressive at times and has earned himself steady playing time for Cadiz, the reality is that he is not nearly consistent enough nor a good enough athlete to assert his case as a future first-team player. But he COULD reach that level.
Real Madrid may be open to selling him, but I doubt they would get a good offer. Another loan move is possible or a sale wherein they retain part of the player’s rights, such as they have with Fran Garcia, Jorge de Frutos, and even Oscar Rodriguez.
Verdict: Sell while retaining a portion of rights or simply loan again
GK Diego Altube
Very little is known about Real Madrid’s third-best goalkeeper, Diego Altube. If Andriy Lunin is having a tough time seeing a first-team future for himself in the Spanish capital, then you can only imagine how slim Altube’s prospects of playing at the Santiago Bernabeu are.
Loaned at Fuenlabrada in Segunda this season, it’s anyone’s guess as to what will happen to Altube. Another loan would make sense for the young, talented goalkeeper.
Verdict: Send out on loan again
RB Alvaro Odriozola
I see quite a few Madridistas hyping up Alvaro Odriozola as a much-improved player for Fiorentina and even wanting him back as the right back alternative to Dani Carvajal, but I think that is yet another case of Madrid fans overrating the mild success of a loanee in a much, much easier situation than playing for Real Madrid.
It is true that Odriozola has impressed offensively for Fiorentina, but he hasn’t exactly blown anyone out of the water in Serie A. And his defending is just as poor as it was in Madrid, with some of Odri’s best offensive games coming at the same time that he made basic positional errors to surrender goals defensively.
Odriozola fits Fiorentina much better than he fits Madrid. If Fiorentina are interesting in buying him, Real should sell. They need to look for a significantly better option at right back this summer.
Verdict: Sell to Fiorentina
FW Brahim Diaz
Staying in Serie A, let’s discuss another Real Madrid loanee playing for a club in the top half of the table and who is probably getting too much praise from Madridistas. Brahim Diaz has been a fairly mediocre attacking player for Milan this season, with many fans of the Rossoneri coming away rather unimpressed with the Spaniard’s latest displays. While some of that is harsh and ignores some of the excellent work he did earlier this season, the reality is that Brahim has the same consistency issues the other loanees do.
On to the positives. Brahim has end product, works hard, can recover the ball, and makes the players around him better. The issue is that he is a limited athlete, not a prolific scorer, and isn’t particularly great at any one thing. Brahim has backup written all over him, and that’s essentially his best role at Milan, too.
So if he isn’t good enough to be a sure-fire starter for Milan, he isn’t yet good enough to be a starter for Real Madrid. While he would not be out of place in the first team, it is best for the Merengues to keep him on loan. They could sell him, but I don’t like the way Milan are trying to get him at a bargain rate. And who knows? It is totally possible for him to explode in 2022/23. The technical quality and “soft” skills are very much there.
Verdict: Keep him on loan at Milan, then re-evaluate
FW Takefusa Kubo
Takefusa Kubo is absolutely the most exciting loanee Real Madrid have in terms of skill and future upside, and he had an exceptional run of form this season. But like the other players before him on this list, Kubo isn’t ready yet. He’s still too inconsistent, as can be seen in pretty much every other performance outside that window of form.
Kubo’s second stint in Mallorca has been just like his first – promising but nothing remotely great. The Japanese international lost a year of his development between Villarreal and Getafe last season, and now he is at a crucial stage for his Madrid future. The club likes him and believes in him, but there is no first-team slot available for him in 2022/23. Most of all, he isn’t ready yet.
Just 20 years old, Kubo has a few more years left to impress Real Madrid before they have to make a decision. Everything is there for him to be a major success, and I think he will be. But he needs to be a star and play for a team on loan that can help him shine. Mallorca just isn’t serious enough. The question is, can Kubo make. a step up and elevate himself to the circumstances? He floundered at Villarreal…
Verdict: Loan to a bigger club than Mallorca
FW Reinier
I would prefer not to talk about Reinier Jesus, because I have been profoundly disappointed with the way his loan move to Borussia Dortmund has materialized. It looked like Reinier would be a revelation when clubs like Dortmund and Bayer Leverkusen showed interest in signing him on loan before the 2020/21 season, but Reinier has flopped in the Bundesliga.
It’s a different kind of flopping, though. Reinier hasn’t been terrible. We don’t know if he is or isn’t good enough. Because he never plays! His minutes played statistics look like Mariano Diaz’s. Even with injuries to the likes of Marco Reus, Erling Haaland, and Gio Reyna, Reinier doesn’t get a chance. He is a versatile forward, but you would never get that sense based on how little Marco Rose, Lucien Favre, and Edin Terzic have called upon the Brazilian.
He obviously needs a new loan now that his two years are up. (By the way, Dortmund could have terminated his loan, having no use for him, but decided not to!)
It is imperative Reinier’s next loan goes well. His Real Madrid future depends on it. After the club invested 30 million euros in him, they must not give up now.
Verdict: Loan him to a smaller club where he can play
FW Borja Mayoral
The last loanee on the list is yet another talented attacker – and the most impactful Real Madrid loanee of both the 2020/21 and 2021/22 seasons. You can see why Zinedine Zidane wanted to keep Mayoral over Luka Jovic last season. He would fit Madrid significantly better.
Borja Mayoral was a star for Roma last season as Edin Dzeko’s backup, but Jose Mourinho had no use for him in his plans. Plus, new acquisition Tammy Abraham has been an absolute star for the resurgent Serie A side. Thus, Mayoral, through no fault of his own, was loaned to Getafe. And it didn’t take him long to get off running with Enes Unal upon his return to LaLiga.
The 25-year-old has four goals and one assist in under 500 LaLiga minutes thus far with Getafe, and he is starting to hit his peak as a scorer. Mayoral is dangerous every time he plays, and he looks like someone who could even help Real Madrid as a backup striker.
Want your voice heard? Join the The Real Champs team!
If there are no better options and the player is willing, Mayoral could replace Jovic as Karim Benzema’s backup. But if he wants to be a starter somewhere, Los Blancos should not hold him back. He should fetch around 20 million euros on the transfer market.
Verdict: Karim Benzema’s backup or sell at a significant fee